The invention pertains to the art of conduit fittings and more particularly to an end cap fitting.
The invention is particularly applicable to an end cap for obstructing the passageway of a conduit and, more particularly, to an arched plastic drainage conduit typically used in the agricultural drainage industry. However, it will be appreciated to those skilled in the art that the invention could be readily adapted for use in other environments as, for example, where similar conduit fitting devices are employed to cap or obstruct passageways.
Upon installation of a conduit line in a subterranean location, it is desirable to cap the terminal end of the line to obstruct the ingress of ambient materials such as sand, gravel, clay, or other soil materials and to further obstruct the conduit passageways to small animals which can cause particular damage to the conduit. Most conventional drainage conduits are generally circular in cross section and capping is typically accomplished by enclosing the line terminal end with a circular fitting which is received either in the conduit line or on and around the peripheral walls of the end of the conduit line.
Typically, these prior end cap fittings for plastic corrugated tubing have variously comprised cup-shaped members similarly formed from plastics.
Prior externally fitted end cap fittings have suffered from a number of inherent problems. Separation of the end cap from the conduit line has chiefly occurred due to the substantial difference between the outside diameter of the end cap and the outside diameter of the conduit line which results in a jutting protrusion normal to the surface of the line that has been particularly susceptible to receiving axial forces. The protrusion has also precluded the use of automatic installation devices to install the terminal end of the line below ground because of the likelihood of separation of the cap from the line during passage through the conduit installation device. Such installation must therefore be manually performed at the subterranean location.
An additional problem resides in the fact that the line must be completely separated from the feeding roll of tubing to attach the end cap. An interruption in the line typically causes an interruption in the continuous feed of conduit to an installation device. The installation device must therefore be manually refed the terminal end of the roll for a new line of tubing to be installed.
Prior internally fitted end caps have similarly variously suffered from the installation problem of causing an interruption in the conduit line necessitating a manual refeed of the installation device.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved device which overcomes all of the above referred to problems and others to provide a new arch end cap fitting which is simple in design, economical to manufacture, readily adaptable for use with an arch conduit having a variety of dimensional characteristics, easy to install, and which provides improved capping for protection against environmental harzards.